Ore may be removed from a deposit for further processing as part of a mining operation. Further processing may include at least one of crushing and milling the ore from an initial size to a size that facilitates extracting the desirable minerals therein from the gangue (i.e., the surrounding material, the non-desirable materials, etc.). Traditional processing systems mechanically reduce the size of the ore. Such traditional processing is energy intensive. The energy required to reduce the size of the ore and the achieved size reduction may not be linearly related. By way of example, reducing the size of the ore from one centimeter to millimeter- or micron-sized particles may require significantly more energy than reducing the size of the ore from ten centimeters to one centimeter. The ore is thereafter traditionally exposed to a solution that facilitates extracting the desirable mineral. However, such solutions may present environmental concerns.